Coad red hot for the White Rose

Ben Coad is a star of the future and one of the top performers in this year's County Championship: he was the figurehead on a great derby day for Yorkshire. Elsewhere, Somerset were saved from ruin by Dean Elgar and the weather, and there were remarkable batting performances of all shapes, sizes, and speeds. Here are the best bits...

Coad Posts Career-Best...

Yorkshire's Ben Coad was the driving force behind a remarkable first-day demolition of derby rivals Lancashire, who were bowled out for 123. His career-best figures of six for 25 were his fourth five-for in this season's County Championship and he has taken 29 wickets in the competition so far. That's some going. Yorkshire had nearly nudged into the lead by the end of the day, only two down...

Elgar Leads Middlesex a Merry Dance

Tom Helm is the latest seamer to emerge from Angus Fraser's hothouse, and he joined messrs Murtagh, Roland-Jones, and Franklin in reducing Somerset to a measly 80 for five early on the first day at Lord's, a period which included yet another mega-catch from ol' bucket-hands himself, Ollie Rayner. It took a staunch partnership from Somerset's rock Dean Elgar and 'keeper Lewis Gregory to put a respectable gloss on their first-innings before the rains came to wash away their pain, and most of the afternoon's cricket.

A Tale of Two Hitters

Sean Ervine joined Jimmy Adams at the crease with Hampshire 31 for three against strugglers Warwickshire, but that was as good as it got for the Bears as the pair added an unbeaten 263 as Hampshire closed on 294 for three. The story of the partnership was one of two very different innings, Ervine completely outpacing his watchful partner in reaching 160 not out. Adams did squeeze past the century mark, though, finishing the day on 104.

Save your legs, Samit

On a day of gritty batting recoveries Nottinghamshire provided the opposite, a middle order hiccup at Trent Bridge against Derbyshire, slipping from 132 for two to 168 for six. Riki Wessels was typically unflappable, contributing 39 to help drag the hosts up to a first-innings total of 229. Samit Patel's contribution was relatively brief, but no less curious as a result. What is he thinking(?), we wondered for most of the day...

Home and Hoved

Sussex put defeat at Kent last time out to the back of their minds as they returned to Hove, the site of a mammoth victory over Durham, andstarted with a bang against Worcestershire. Rangy left-hander Luke Wells followed up his 258 in the Durham win with another big hundred (139 not out), and there were scores from opener Harry Finch, and Stiaan van Zyl, as Worcestershire's bowlers were put to the sword. Sussex finished the day 339 for 3, eyeing up a hefty total.